Penmanship: Guests of the International Exhibition of Calligraphy were taught to write in Arabic script and Korean characters

Yulia Kots

A World Famous Mezuzah, a Golden Koran, the Holy Mantra as well as other masterpieces by modern artists from more than forty countries were presented at the 3rd International Exhibition of Calligraphy.

The ancient Yaroslav’s Court hosted the exhibition’s pavilions featuring many a chef d’oeuvre of international renown. A World Famous Mezuzah, a unique sized sacred scroll of parchment, on which according to the canons of sacred calligraphy, hand-written passages from the Torah are written, fresh from Israel, was to be kept intact and impervious to dust, moisture or any other disturbing agent. A Golden Koran, an absolute copy of the Koran of Usman, one of the most ancient Islamic manuscripts of the 8th century, executed in a single copy of triple nine gold blinded the audience with its yellow radiance.

George Beckman’s rarest easel calligraphy samples suggested the traces of the famous American sculptor’s die hard jet fighter pilot’s past.

The viewers could not only marvel at the recognized masterpieces but also watch how they were created. The exhibition master-classes were held by modern calligraphers. Cyrillic, Persian or Korean calligraphy masters managed to show the full power of their art in a mere half hour. After each master-class there were queues of those seeking to get a beautiful inscription as a souvenir. A ninety-year-old woman got a fan with master Kim Jong Chil’s inscription.

Hassan Makaremi, a French calligrapher taught the visitors to paint on porcelain. He had prepared brushes made of cardboard that had the same shape as the real quills. Starting with simple lines, the visitors repeated Makaremi’s every move from point to point ending up with almost a full fledged Arabic script! Of course, it was not calligraphy in the full sense of the word. The master showed how fast you could go from simple lines to calligraphic compositions.

The Novgorod State Museum-Reserve has shown its collection of birch bark manuscripts, icons, ancient documents and ancient manuscripts. The ancient Russian masters had something up their sleeve to surprise the modern audience: Uncial and Half-uncial Cyrillic Book Hand, fine Cyrillic Cursive Handwritring, tempera and gold on birch bark, paper, wood… A 12th century Slavonic book, found during excavations in Veliky Novgorod was the true gem of the exhibition. An ancient Novgorod calligrapher's handwriting was clearly legible on the three wooden boards covered with wax, and experts were able to decipher what they had discovered: an ancient Psalter.